Coraline (2009)

dir. Henry Selick
writ. Henry Selick (screenplay), Neil Gaiman (book)
feat. Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Ian McShane

There seems to remain a missing bit of alchemy in successfully making films out of Neil Gaiman's ideas. The BBC budget constraints may be blamed for Neverwhere, a flawed story for MirrorMask, and I'll confess to having steered clear of Stardust. Beowulf sticks close to a heroic structure and muddles through enjoyably enough, carried by flying dragons when it sags elsewhere. On the surface, Coraline promises great things with Gaiman only writing the source material, not the screenplay and Henry Selick returning to stop-motion as director. Heck, they even throw in 3D, with promises to use it wisely. So it is unfortunate that Coraline still leaves the viewer wanting.

What goes wrong this time? I suppose it could begin with the rainy Oregon setting, the heavy handed children's story opener of the neglected child left to fend for herself while Mommy and Daddy toil away. Perhaps it's that child herself, Dakota Fanning, still screaming privileged and precious even under that lock of blue hair and preemie-hipster gear. Or maybe it's the best friend, a mutated boy version of Barrel from Selick's The Nightmare Before Christmas, but with less charisma than the source imp. (I suppose we should be glad Danny Elfman isn't around or we might have heard another round of musical plagiarism ala The Corpse Bride.)

But perhaps this is a case of too harsh too soon; such stories tend to lag at the outset, the establishing of the ordinary world often too ordinary. It is in the mysterious other realm that they really get to fly. Thankfully, this is true of Coraline, with several stunning set pieces that take full advantage of 3D and the animation style (as well as inspired performances by McShane, Saunders, and French), achieving one of the greatest aspirations of such films, a sense of soaring, weightless wonder, the story sailing to new heights, taking Coraline magical places with the audience in tow.

And there are commendably adult themes at work in the film, most subtly the way in which a child can mistakenly deem a parent careless when preoccupied by other responsibilities, and most unsettlingly the mother as head of the family, her demand for hegemony, and the threat she poses if challenged.

With high-flying moments bolstered by subversive undercurrents and the truly frightening threat (further enhanced by its casual announcement) of losing one's eyes to have buttons sewn into their place, the stage is set for an exciting climax. Sadly, a series of missteps follow as the story shifts into a completely menacing tone too suddenly, without a much needed ramp, and then settles for a video game conclusion, a final trio of tasks, too similar and predictable, squandering all that energy for a sputtering disappointing bumpy landing.